“With great momentum and a sense of drama” (Die Presse), this Mozart Week opening concert leaves nothing to be desired. González-Monjas “coaxed boundless energy out of the orchestra” (SN). Soprano Lauren Snouffer dazzled with Haydn and pianist Gabriela Montero offered a “fiery performance” (Das Opernmagazin) of Mozart’s piano concerto KV 466: “Montero (…) led the audience into romantic sound worlds, while in the encore she improvised on Cherubino’s “Voi sapete” and ended with Bach “à la Stokowski” (Salzburger Nachrichten).
Gonzales-Monjas, Villazon & Mozarteum Orchestra
New Mozarteumorchester Salzburg chief conductor Roberto González-Monjas and his orchestra are a pair that has “sought and found” (APA) each other, perform Salieri’s rarely heard Sinfonia “Il giorno onomastico”. The concert is bookended by Mozart’s first and last symphonies, for which González-Monjas “presented a striking interpretative calling card” (Salzburger Nachrichten). Rolando Villazón completes the evening with three of Mozart’s arias, utilizing his full range as a performer: “The arch-comedian […] plays all his trump cards of dramatic and gestural, but also vocal expressiveness” (Salzburger Nachrichten). Mozart: Symphony in E flat major, K. 16; “Va’ dal furor portata”, K. 21, Aria for tenor and orchestra; From La clemenza di Tito, K. 621: Aria of Tito “Se all’impero, amici dèi”; “Con ossequio, con rispetto”, K. 210, Aria for tenor and orchestra; Symphony in C major, K. 551 “Jupiter”; Salieri: Symphony in D major “Il giorno onomastico” (arr. Pietro Spada)
Opening Concert Mozart Week 2023
Ivor Bolton, who was chief conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra from 2004 to 2016, returns to Salzburg for a special concert: designed in the style of an 18th-century “academy”, it offers a colourful mix of early and late works, large and small form, instrumental and vocal works. Solo support comes from violinist Clarissa Bevilacqua with Mozart’s Adagio in E major and Rondo in C major. The young Italian won the “Salzburg Mozart Competition” in 2020 in the violin category as well as the prize for the best Mozart interpretation. Austrian baritone Rafael Fingerlos sings selected arias from Bastien und Bastienne and Zaide. “A Mozart cross-section of high sensual appeal” (Kronenzeitung).